As Halloween approached this year, UK pumpkin supply chains faced a spooky twist. Relentless rainstorms and a sudden slug invasion wreaked havoc on pumpkin crops, resulting in a significant supply shortfall and driving prices up by about 30%. But for manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers using Helios AI, the story took a less sinister turn.

France’s wine production has seen a significant decline in 2024 due to climate-related disruptions. The country is expected to see a 22% drop in wine output compared to last year. Unfavorable weather conditions, particularly wet and erratic patterns, have affected all wine-growing regions. This isn’t a one-off event either—chaotic weather patterns driven by climate change have consistently impacted grape harvests.

At Helios AI, we’re thrilled to share some exciting news—our CommodiTrack™ executive dashboard just got a whole lot bigger! We’ve expanded it to cover 50 new commodities, giving agri-food buyers and traders unprecedented access to key supply chain risks for everything from apples to zucchini.

This apple season is truly a rollercoaster ride for the U.S. apple industry, with some regions expecting bumper crops and others bracing for disappointing yields. Experts are predicting a harvest of about 260 million bushels—about 5% lower than last year's 274 million. So, what's causing this ups and downs in apple production? Well, it seems that this year, the weather has been throwing a few unexpected curveballs.

Helios AI climate risk signals are extremely predictive of major agricultural commodity prices and have been proven very profitable over a 10-year backtest. So, let's get to it: How much money would we have made trading its signals over the last few years? The answer: a lot. More specifically, you would’ve made over $2.8M over the past four years trading as an individual.

In today's fast-paced world, staying ahead in the commodity trading & procurement game requires more than just intuition and traditional data analysis. Enter the CommodiTrack Dashboard—a groundbreaking upgrade to our platform designed to transform how users interact with and interpret agricultural commodity data.

How much time have you really spent thinking about the soil, beneath your feet?  Probably not much! You see, mostly everything you eat relies on healthy soil that can grow and support crops - but that could soon be a thing of the past.  Soil degradation is accelerating faster than at any point in modern history and is already impacting the amount of food we produce. 

Most of us don’t associate rising sea levels with water scarcity.  After all, wouldn’t more water from melting glaciers mean… more water? In fact, rising sea levels driven by global warming are increasingly encroaching on coastal farmlands. This phenomenon, known as saltwater intrusion, means that as sea levels rise, they push saltwater into freshwater sources, damaging crops and soil.

The last eight years since the Paris Agreement was signed have been heartbreaking. The world’s leaders have gone from being clear-eyed visionaries, united in their efforts to save our planet, to more like sad ostriches, heads buried deeply in the sand. Or worse, modern Nero’s, playing the violin to pretend all can still be well while our planet burns. 

We are deeply passionate about bringing our cutting edge AI platform to the problems faced by both the private AND public sector, and are thrilled to announce today that Helios’ platform is now available on the General Services Administration (GSA) schedule!

Northern Ghana is experiencing one of the worst droughts in its history, which has significantly impacted the country's grain production, particularly in regions that account for about 62% of Ghana's grain output. Over the past two months, drought and near-drought conditions have escalated, putting as much as 1.8 million hectares of land at risk.

The question we’re looking to answer is: If you had been using our Cocoa climate risk signals over the past 10 years, how accurate and profitable would they have been? In this blog post, we tested the predictiveness of Helios’ climate risk signals against Cocoa prices, to identify the optimal long only trading strategy. Spoiler: for the vast majority of trades, our risk signal is a leading indicator of price increases.

We're SO thrilled to be this year's Agri Business Review Commodity Company of the Year! This award is most special to us because we were nominated by a group of our peers and customers, who have seen the extraordinary strides we've made this year in building out the most comprehensive and predictive climate risk platform to predict soft commodity prices. Onward and upward!

Did you know that India, the world's second-largest producer of rice, is considering easing export restrictions on non-basmati rice? This decision, expected to be finalized this week, comes as India grapples with record-high rice stocks and international pressure to ensure global food security.

We tested the predictiveness of Helios’ climate risk signals against Corn prices to identify exactly how effective is our platform at predicting the price of soft commodities. The results? Our risk signal becomes predictive above the 25% weighted risk threshold. For almost all trades above this threshold, the risk signal is a leading indicator of price increases and a trader would make money.

Is the era of delicious, bubbly, dry French champagne coming to an end after all these centuries? So many food items we’ve taken for granted for decades are at risk - and sadly our favorite celebration drink may be among them. The Champagne region in France, known for its unique climate that gives its sparkling wine its distinctive taste, is facing unprecedented challenges due to rising temperatures and unpredictable weather.

As global citizens, we think and worry about climate change all the time. We worry about how rising sea levels will flood our cities, how hotter summers will make outdoor activities impossible, and, most importantly, how a changing climate dramatically affects agriculture. The link between these agricultural disruptions and rising food prices is clear and direct.

Traditionally, food prices have been impacted by climate events only after the disaster occurred. Now, it isn't just the actual occurrence of these disasters but the mere anticipation of such events that can cause food prices to soar.

Brazilians have long joked that their country is blessed: free from the hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters that torment the U.S. and other Latin American countries. However, the narrative of safety is rapidly changing as extreme weather events become more common.

This is a post directed at you, the retail buyer of fruits and veggies. You know why? Because you are probably a terrible customer. Last week, Helios got to spend time with an awesome group of AG start-ups as part of the International Fresh Produce Association’s cohort of Ag Innovators. And yet, what was most surprising and heartbreaking about the whole trip was the sheer amount of waste we saw everywhere.